This blog is a forum to highlight, celebrate and share the good works of people and organizations making our world a better place, especially those who are dedicated to catching the hurtful stones we are prone to cast at, or throw in the path of, the marginalized, vulnerable and victimized among us. Be a stonecatcher!

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Creating Hartford Collective Culture at Know Good Market

Know Good Market, October 12, 2017
Photo Credit: Taylor Peracchio

Creating Hartford Collective Culture at Know Good Market

By Drew Kozub, Leah Fuld, and Taylor Peracchio, Trinity College '21

What does it mean to be from Hartford? What defines
the city’s identity? In recent years, Hartford is developing a reputation for
its amazing food truck vendors – and this is no accident. Jeff Devereux (Trinity
College ’12) is among the founders of the social enterprise Breakfast Lunch
& Dinner (BL&D), which holds many events with the goal of fostering “collective
culture” in Hartford. One central event is Know Good Market, an
open-air food truck event held in Hartford’s Parkville neighborhood on the
second Thursday of the month from April to November. At Know Good Market,
residents come together to enjoy food, drink, and local vendors, while also developing
a closer attachment to one another and to the city of Hartford.

Devereux
describes collective culture as a state in which “everyone feels a part of a
community, regardless of race, income, or background. …[E]veryone can get
involved and participate in something together.” In this way, Devereux’s
efforts with Know Good Market are about far more than having fun. Community
events that build social networks, trust, and a sense of shared goals can
contribute to building upon Hartford’s strengths and addressing its challenges.

Hartford’s struggles and where they
stand

Since
the late 1990s, survey after survey placed Hartford among the poorest of all
American cities. As its population shrank, poverty and racial segregation grew.[1]
As a result, redevelopment stalled and the city fell into an extended fiscal
crisis. Many of the suburbs surrounding Hartford are wealthy, but suburban
residents typically come into the city only
to work, leaving directly after the workday. Downtown, sidewalks that are
packed by day empty out in the evening hours. In part as a result, many recent
college graduates leave Hartford for bigger cities.[2]

While
some view Hartford’s size, poverty, and diversity as a disadvantage, Jeff
Devereux sees these challenges as opportunities. Indeed, he believes that the
city’s diverse population and relatively small size are both advantages in
launching a business like BL&D. Hartford
has the components of a great city, but needs a shared sense of identity – a
kind of social glue – to bring these ingredients together.

Know Good Market

Know
Good Market fosters collective culture by bringing together people from
different parts of Hartford for a shared experience. In only its second year, the market has grown from
two food trucks and about a hundred people, to twelve vendors and as many as
eight hundred people. When we visited on Thursday, October 12, the market was
the perfect place for a diverse range of residents to get food and drinks after
work. The market had numerous culinary options, and almost all the vendors had
lines reaching from their trucks. The lines were a great opportunity to meet
new people and start making connections.

Another site
for interaction is the market’s single, long communal table. With few other
places to sit and eat, people can’t help but sit together and meet a new
neighbor. Proximity to Hog River Brewing
Company on Bartholomew Avenue also helps build social connections. With beers in hand, strangers felt even more comfortable beginning to interact.

Hog River Brewery. Photo Credit: Taylor Peracchio

The Know Good Market is successful in building
collective culture in part because the vendors share Jeff Devereux’s goal.
Butcher & Red, for instance, produces delicious food by buying products
from local farmers and using a non-profit, shared kitchen called Hands on Hartford.
Participating in the Market has helped
them make connections with other vendors in Connecticut and learn more about what
is going on in Hartford. Referring to some of Hartford’s other new businesses
that participate in the market, they said: “Hog River Brewery and Story and
Soil Coffee show us that Hartford can be a place for young and innovative
business owners to thrive.” And through Know Good Market, they see these
businesses “all supporting each other.” Moreover, they see the market bringing
in residents that generate business and increase a sense of collective culture:
“Know Good Market attracts people that don’t usually go into Hartford, and it’s
becoming a thing for people to do. It gets them out of their normal social
bubble to see that Hartford has some cool stuff going on.” Other vendors
concurred. Krystal, from Zipped and Printed, which sells a variety of items
featuring bright African textiles, sees Know Good Market as “something really
special … bringing the Hartford community together regardless of age or other
factors.”

Through
face to face interactions at Know Good Market, we get to know our neighbors
better, we trust them more, and, ultimately, we’re more able to work together
to make change. This collective culture makes the city a more attractive place
to live and may contribute to combatting “brain drain” and bringing in more tax
revenue.

A Know Good Market Vendor. Photo Credit: Taylor Peracchio

You Can Help Too!

So
now you might be asking, what you can do to help? The answer is quite simple:
attend Know Good Market! Start following BL&D on social media so that you
won’t miss upcoming events. Jeff
Devereux plans to continue creating opportunities for the community to connect
at Know Good Market and beyond. Going to events hosted by Breakfast
Lunch & Dinner is a great opportunity to have fun while becoming a part of
the collective culture of our city. This sense of shared identity will become a
resource in addressing challenges and capitalizing on opportunities as a
greater Hartford community.

Want
to know more? Visit Breakfast Lunch & Dinner’s website to learn about their
full range of projects and upcoming events, and also find
links to social media accounts: http://www.breakfastxlunchxdinner.com

This article is the fourth and final in a series of four student blog posts featured from Trinity Assistant Professor Abigail Williamson's first-year seminar Civic Engagement and Community as described in my blog post Classroom to Community at Trinity.

Red Truck Stonecatcher

Be A Stonecatcher!

I drive a red truck. I want to catch stones. This blog is a forum to highlight, celebrate and share the good works of people and organizations making our world a better place, especially those who are dedicated to catching the hurtful stones we are prone to cast at, or throw in the path of, the marginalized, vulnerable, and victimized among us, which prevents them from realizing the recognition, respect, and rights a just world should afford everyone. Invest in each other and work together. Be a stonecatcher!